S.J. health takes turn for better

Good news for those of us who've been sick or will be in the future (which is to say all of us).

Good news for those of us who've been sick or will be in the future (which is to say all of us).

Privately owned Dameron Hospital, a facility that has served Stockton for a century, has entered into a joint venture with the huge UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.

The deal seems to be less than a merger or buyout but more than a loose affiliation. But what it really means is Dameron patients and their physicians will have access to the cutting edge medicine practiced at the 619-bed Sacramento facility and its close linkage with the university's Sacramento medical school.

The venture also brings economies of scale that a small, independent hospital such as the 202-bed Dameron cannot match.

Dameron will operate under the auspices of a limited liability company, Dameron Davis Management Co., already approved by the UC Board of Regents.

There will be two boards to run Dameron Davis including one with half its members appointed by UC and the others by Dameron to make top level management decisions.

A second board, appointed by the first, will handle day-to-day local hospital operations.

The linkage of Dameron and UC Davis has been talked about for months. By next spring it likely will be a reality.

The big advantage for the community, other than shoring up Dameron's financial picture shaken by the economic downturn, is this, according to Lorraine Auerback, Dameron's new CEO: This area "has good, solid bread-and-butter health care. Now it's going to have good solid, world-class health care."